Fox News Channel and the Republican National Committee will host the final GOP primary debate on March 21, despite front-runner Donald Trump’s recent assertion that the remaining candidates have “had enough.”
The 13th debate, set to take place in Salt Lake City, was listed on the RNC’s original debate schedule and confirmed by the committee on Feb. 20, but faced uncertainty after Utah Gov. Gary Herbert suggested last week that the debate might not take place if Trump pulls off victories in Ohio and Florida.
In an email to reporters Monday, the RNC announced that it will host the debate as planned and do so in conjunction with Fox News. The network has hosted three previous debates in Iowa, Detroit and Ohio.
Florida and Ohio, both winner-take-all states, are set to vote on Tuesday and have a combined 165 delegates up for grabs. Trump currently leads Sen. Marco Rubio in his home state of Florida and is within striking distance of Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the Buckeye State.
Following the 12th GOP debate in Miami last week, Trump said “it [would] be nice to finish off with this one.”
“I really think it’s enough debates. I don’t think there’s any reason for the debates,” he told reporters during a press conference.
“I mean, how many times do you have to give the same answer to the same question?” Trump added.
The New York businessman skipped the final debate before the Iowa caucuses and has threatened to skip others. He later admitted that declining to attend the debate in Iowa may have hurt his performance in the state’s Republican caucuses.
“I think some people were disappointed that I didn’t go into the debate,” he said at the time.
Trump appeared to have settled his feud with Fox News personality Megyn Kelly during the last debate in Detroit, Mich.
